Auto Racing: Elkhart Lake man fares well in Dubai

Elkhart Lake’s Nicolas Hammann is no stranger to racing. But competing in a 95-car field over a 24-hour period?

The 21-year old GT Academy North America Champ began his professional racing career along with four other 2014 GT Academy winners and brought their GT Academy/Team RJN Nissan GT-R a podium finish by taking second in class and an all-time best fifth overall at the Dubal 24 Hours.

“I think we all can be proud, and I can’t wait to get back out and race again for Nissan,” Hammann — whose first stint in the NISSAN GTR GT3 began at 8:30 p.m. and lasted 90 minutes — said in a press release. “I was a little worried about 90-something cars on the track in the dark, going all kinds of different speeds. After a few laps, though, I started to settle in and it was so much fun.”

Hammann’s second stint on the 2.5-mile Dubai Autodrome circuit began at 5 a.m. Soon after he punctured a tire, but managed to pit and not lose too much time. The stint ended at about 6:50 a.m.

“It’s not always just how fast you can go,” said Hammann. “I was able to see the sun come up while I was driving, which was very cool.”

The final stint for Hammann was noon-1 p.m. Upon completion, he handed the reigns to 2012 GT Academy Europe Champion and pro driver Florian Strauss (Germany) to finish the race. Fellow members of the team included Ricardo Sanchez (Mexico), Ahmed Bin Khanen (Saudi Arabia) and Gaetan Paletou (France).

“The entire RJN Motorsports team did a remarkable job, and they are the reason why we finished so well,” Hammann said. “Everyone was super excited to finish so well and happy with the incredible result for the gamers turned racers.”

Hammann — who advanced to Dubai by winning the Gran Turismo Academy automobile competition in August — flew back to the U.S. on Sunday.

“I haven’t heard anything about plans for the future, but I should find out more by the end of January,” Hammann said. “They are so organized ... it truly was a blast driving the car and working with them.

“I think we all can be proud, and I can’t wait to get back out and race again for Nissan.”